Sharpstown, Texas, a mid-size city near Houston, decided not to renew its contract with the local police department back in 2012. To replace them, the town hired a private security firm, SEAL Security Solutions, to keep the area safe.
The results have been remarkable. “Since we’ve been in there, an independent crime study that they’ve had done [indicates] we’ve reduced the crime by 61% in just 20 months,” said James Alexander of SEAL. He attributes the success to a larger force of officers and more time spent on patrol.
The new contract also saves local taxpayers some $200,000 per year, as SEAL’s services are cheaper than the costs of maintaining the old constabulary. Another benefit, as The Free Thought Project points out, is that private security firms do not have government officers’ near immunity from legal consequences of misconduct and abuse, meaning they’re more likely to be respectful of people’s rights and property.
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These private forces cropping up in many states remind me of the Shadowrun game world. Private security forces were the norm. LoneStar was the biggest. Granted, in the game world, they were puppet armies for huge corporations, and even corporations had their own police/security forces to act on their behalf.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of private police forces, to me, seems logical and needed. Maybe I'm biased from my pencil and paper gaming days but... just seems a better proposition than resting and vesting union employees carrying guns and bullying the populace. Much better to have a group of officers that are subject to and directly accountable to the people who pay their salaries; the stock holders in their company.
http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Lone_Star_Security_Services
http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
"Watch your back, shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon. "
Fun gameworld :)
officers that are subject to and directly accountable to the people who pay their salaries; the stock holders in their company.
DeleteAgreed, unless regular police can be held personally accountable for their actions.
Sunwolf has the handicap of not being grounded in reality . He is a "gamer" and must learn that cyberspace has nothing whatsoever to do with the real world. In the real world the push toward "private security policing" is nothing less than a long term plan to replace publicly funded "court officers" with private contractors paid with federal dollars. A national "police" controlled by the white house. In fact it will be a true Nazi "SA" that will remove the last vestige of "civil rights" enjoyed by the American people. Mercenaries (and that's what they are) report to the guy paying them .NOT THE PEOPLE THEY OPPRESS. All it will take to grant the "merc's" TOTAL immunity is ONE "executive order". After that its Katrina on a national scale. Anybody care to ask how many of them will be Non-US nationals, who can commit any atrocity their masters want them to, then just get on a federal bird to Reo with a briefcase full of Obamabucks? If they bother to remove them AT ALL. This can only end badly. So lets revue; National police, Black sights, People being "disappeared", press sensors, internet sensors, car tracking, phone tracking, face tracking, "suicides" by dissenters, two sets of "law" one for us , none for "them", OPEN high treason by both political party's and almost everyone else in the federal government; and that's just this week---Did I leave anything out or are we "there" yet?--Ray
ReplyDeleteThe concept isn't new. I believe the Phoenix fire department is a contracted service and not a government department. This idea does hold the potential to keep government employees from hiding from accountability for their actions and has better accountability for benefit costs. It could work equally well with school teachers or even IRS employees.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we get the government out of it, that's fine.
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